Device for cutting belting and other material



Fels-526, 1935. Q BLOMSTRQM 1,992,600

DEVICE FOR CUTTING BELTING AND OTHER MATERIAL Filed Feb. 10, 1934 MJ; "ff gf/@W Patented Feb. 26, 1935 UNITED STATES DEVICEFOR CUTTING BEL'rING' AND OTHER MATERIAL Charles Blomstrom, Minneapolis, Minn. Application Februaryl, 1934, Serial No. 710,636

Claims. (Cl. 164-83) l This invention relates to adevice for cutting belting or other sheet material. Asis well known to those familiar with'the art it is often desired to cut a more or less narrow piece from the end y5 of Ya .strip of belting to give a proper edge for making `a joint or for some other reason. It is often desirable l-to have a simple and efficient meanswhich can be quickly operated for cutting off a piece of belting or for cutting and-trimming other-sheet material'suchas linoleum, sheet rubberorthelike. l

.It is an object -of this invention to provide a ver-y simple, efficient and easily operated device forcutting or trimminga piece of belting or other sheet-material.

-Itis another .objectof the invention lto provide such a device comprising a simple frame having a surface :for supporting said material, a rectilinear abutment ;at one side of said lframe designed to be engaged byone edge of the belting or other material, a knife for cutting -said materialand means for moving .said knife towardsaid abutment and guiding the V,same in a line at right angles to said abutment to cut said'material.

it is another object of theinvention to provide a rigid frame having a surface for supporting said belting orotherfsheet material, said frame having a Vpassage or guideway of non-circularcross secand projecting-upwardly through and freelyrnov-` able within said slot, a handle secured to the other end of said bar and disposed'at one side of said -frame for moving said bar and knife transversely of said frame tocut said material.v

It is still another `object of the invention to provide a devifor cutting belang or other sheet material comprising a frame, a knife movable transverselyV of said frame and amember extending across said frame above the path of saidknife forming'avguard.

55 It is a further object ofthe invention to provide a .device for cutting rbelting or 'similar material comprising a frame having a surface for `supporting saidmaterial, a rectilinear abutment at one side of said frame engageable by one edge of said material, a knife movable transversely of said frame .at Vright angles to said abutment for cutting said material and a movable member or gaugehaving a rectilinear surface parallel to said abutment for engaging the other edge of said material.

'Ihese and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which like reference characters refer-to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:-

Fig. 1 is a plan View of the device:

Fig. 2 is a View in side elevation as seen from the bottom of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section takenon line 3--3 of Fig. l as indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1 as'indicated by the arrows; y

Fig. 5 is Va Vvertical section taken on line 5- of Fig. 1 as indicated yby the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of thedevice on ra reduced scale showing a modification; and 1 Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken on line 7--7 of Fig. 2 as indicated-by the arrow.

kReferring to ithe drawing, thedevice comprises a .rigid frame 10 andwhile this frame .might take various forms, in the embodimentoffthe invention illustrated it is shown as .substantially triangular. Said frame for the mostpart is of platelike form `having an integral top surface 10a adapted to support the belting or .other sheet material andvhaving a series of lightening openings or slots; 10b formed therein and extending therethrough. Said frame at one side has a preferably integralv upstanding rib 10c extending thereacross substantially*rectangular in vertical cross section and having ra surface lod forming a rectilinear abutment. A groove 10e is formed in the top of .rib 10c in order toglighten the device.

Said frame has a thickened portion 10j on the underside thereof extending parallel to but somewhat inwardly spaced 'from one edge ,thereof and a groove, guideway vor passage 10G is formed in this portion. While this passage 10g might be of various non-circular shapes, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated it ,is showny as substantially square or rectangular in cross section. A plate ll is secured'tothe bottom vof portion lf by the screws 12 thus forming aclosed rectangular passage. A relatively narrow sloty 10h extends from the top of passage l0g'to the surfacela and it will be seen from Fig. `1 vthat this slot vextends substantially the entire length of frame 10. A bar 13 is of a cross section formed to t and slide .in the groove or passage 10g and this bar has secured to one end'at one side of the frame the handlemember 14. Said handle is shown as secured by a pin 14a extending therethrough and through bar 13. The other end of `loar 13 vis rabfbeted orreduced in thickness, so as :to provide a ,f

PATENT OFFICE i y Vertical shoulder 13a. A thin, approximately fiat knife 15 is secured against said shoulder and the side of the reduced portion of said bar by a screw 16 extending through the knife and .threaded into said bar. The portion 10i has a slot 10i adjacent one side of the frame through which a portion of bar 13 and knife 15 as well as screw 16 may be seen and by means of which the screw and knife maybe applied or removed. It will further be .observed thatl when` the knife issecured in place, accidental total withdrawal of the Y operating bar is prevented. It Will also be noted that, by locating the slot 10h an appreciable dis.-

tance inwardly from the adjacent edge of the frame, support is provided for that portionof the material to be severed during the cutting action thus eliminating tendency of the material to bend and produce an inclined cut in the material.'

Portion 10j has an elevated portion at 'the side of the frame opposite the rib 10c and said rib and elevated portion each have a lug 10gl yupstanding therefrom of semi-cylindrical form at its upper end. A rod-17 extends through an aperture in one lug 107' andis threaded into the other lug 107'. Bod 17 vis provided with a knob orhandle 18 at one end having a knurled surface. Said rod extends across the frame 10 directly above the path of the knife 15 and forms a guard for said knife.

The frame 10 has another slot 10k extending parallel to slot 10h and partway across said frame. A gauge or guide member 19 is provided which is of angular shape in cross section having a vertical rectilinear surface 19a and said mem-Y ber has a depending rib 19h tting in and slidable in slot 10k, said rib 19h being preferably of the same width as element 19 to maintain its alinement. A stud 20 is threaded into the bottom of member 19 through rib 19h and a Washer 21 surrounds this stud and presses against the bottom offrame 10. A compression coiled spring 22 surrounds stud 20 bearing against washer 21 at one end and against a knurled nut 23 threaded onto stud 20. With this construction member 19 is held down firmly on the surface 10a. Said member can of course be moved to different positions on frame 10 and its surface 19a will be maintained parallel to the surface 10d.

It has been found in practice that the knife 15 must be of a4 particular shape to give the best results. As shown in Fig. 7 said knife has its side 15a adjacent its cutting edge disposed in a plane making a very slight angle with the direction of motion of said knife. Ihis is the side toward the main portion of the frame 10 shown at the top of slot 10h in Fig.v 1 and on which the body portion of the belt or material will be disposed. The other side 15b of the knife is shown formed with a slightly curved'surface extending at a relatively greater angle to the line of movement of the knife. Both sides of the knife converge slightly at the rear edge thereof as clearly shown in Fig. 7. In said figure the line of motion of said knife is indicated by the dotted line. By inolining both of the surfaces 15a and 15by from the line of rectilinear motion of the knife and diverging them as above described and then converging the rear portions of the surfaces, as described, so as to make the thickest portion of the knife intermediate the front and rear edges thereof, as shown, not only is the amount of force required to push the knife through a piece of material of given thickness and characteristics very substantially less thanprior types of knives having similar purpose, but the knife will make anabsolutely straight lcut across the full width of the belt or other article being severed without any tendency to draw or push the material transverse to the line of cut as the knife progresses through the material.

In Fig. 6 the frame 10 is shown in outline and the rib 10c is provided with spaced upstanding pins 25 adjacent each end thereof. Another pin 26 is provided upstanding from the top of portion 10j in place of the lug 107'. A closely coiledy tensile spring 27. is provided having a ring or eyelet 27a formed at one end and secured on pin 25. Said spring has a hook portion 27h formed at its other end and this is designed to hook either over the other pin 25 or over pin 26. When the guard is desired over the path of the knife the spring 27 scribed. If it is desired not to use the guard for certain operations hook 27h is hooked overthe pin 25 as shown and the guard is then in inoperative position. Y V

In operation, when a piece of belting is to be cut the same' will be disposed fiat on surface 10a, one edge thereof being pressed against the surface 10d. The belting is moved along over the slot I10h and below bar 17 until the point -or line onwhich it is desired to sever the same is centrally over the slot 10h. The knife 15 at this time is at the left hand end of slot 10h as viewed in Fig. 1, bar 13 extending outwardly at this side of the device. The operator now presses down on the belt withhis hand or fingers, holding the same on surface 10a. and pushes handle 14 and bar 13 inwardly thus moving the knife 15 through the material and severing the same in a straight line. The cutoff piece of the material is moved outwardly or away from the rbody of the material by the curved surface'15b of the knife so that undue `friction against the cut'edge of the material is avoided.4 The converging sides of the knifev at'its rear edge also minimize friction of the knife against the material. The knife is guided very'rigidly in a straight line due to the factthat bar 13'moves and fits throughout its lengthv in the passage 10g and there is no chance for vany sidewise, twisting or torsional movement of the knife and bar which might tend to vmake a serrated diagonal or wavy edge. The knife is veryv rigidly held and guided by the bar 13. The knife is pushed against the material and the shape of the knife tends to hold the material in Aplace as the knife moves therethrough. The guard 17 minimizes the possibility of the operator getting his hand or fingers over the portion of the belt through which the knife moves. v In cutting the larger and'wider belts it is desirable to have the gauge member19. vOne side ofthe belt is rst brought against the surface 10d and gauge 19 isthen moved with asliding movement in frame 10 until its surface 19a engages the other side of the belt. vThe device is then properly positioned for cutting the belt and the operation as above described is performed. The cutting is done by a pushing movement and the resistance to the cut pushes the material firmly against the abutment surface 10d. 'I'he device has been found tohave great utility in cutting linoleum and strips of hard rubber which are now used in many arts.

From the above description it is seen that applicant has provided a very simple and efficient device for the purpose described. The belting or other material can be easily and quickly placed in position and very quickly and accurately severed in a true straight line at right angles to the abutment by use of the device. The device is comparatively light in weight and can be easily taken to the desired point for operation. The parts are comparatively few and the device is quite rugged in structure. The device has been amply demonstrated in actual practice and found to be very successful and efficient.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts, without departing from the scope of applicants invention, which generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:-

l. A device for cutting belting or other sheet material having in combination, a frame having a surface adapted to support a belt, a rectilinear abutment at one side of said frame, a knife movable toward said abutment to sever a piece of material, the side of said knife at the side adjacent the body of said material extending in a plane at a very slight angle to the movement of said knife and the side of said knife adjacent the severed portion extending in a slightly curved surface at a relatively greater angle to the line of movement of said knife.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1, the sides of said knife converging toward the rear edge of said knife.

3. A device for cutting sheet material such as belting having, in combination: a frame provided with a fiat supporting surface for the material to be cut; means for retaining the material in position on said surface during the cutting action; a knife; and a support to which the knife is rigidly secured, the support and knife being movable rectilinearly with reference to said supporting surface and the material retained thereon, the active cutting portion of said knife being located so as to move transversely across and through the material to be cut in a plane at right angles to the supporting surface, the side surfaces of said active portion of the knife diverging rearwardly from the cutting edge, the side surface adjacent the main body of the material extending at a relatively slight angle to the line of movement of the knife and toward said main body of the material and the other side surface, adjacent the portion to be severed, extending at a relatively greater angle to the line of movement of the knife, said active portion of the knife being also of generally tapered section and reduced thickness at its rear edge.

4. A device for cutting sheet material such as belting having, in combination: a frame having an integrally form'ed flat supporting surface for the material to be cut and provided with a rectilinear abutment, said frame being provided also Y with a non-circular guideway disposed belowthe supporting surface and appreciably inwardly of one edge thereof, said guideway extending at an angle to said abutment, said frame having a slot therein extending lengthwise of and narrower than the guideway and providing communication between the guideway and the supporting surface; a knife-operating bar of non-circular cross section corresponding to that of the guideway and having a slidableiit therein whereby the bar is maintained against flexing and twisting in its movements back and forth within the guideway, said bar being recessed for the reception of the end of a knife, the recess providing a shoulder for the knife facing toward said rectilinear abutment; a knife secured at its lower end to said bar in the recess thereof and against said shoulder, and having its cutting blade projecting upwardly through the. slot with the cutting edge faced toward said abutment; and means by which the bar may be actuated to move the knife toward said abutment.

5.l A device for cutting sheet material such as belting having, in combination, a frame provided with an integrally formed fiat supporting surface for the material to be cut and having a rectilinear abutment at one side thereof; a noncircular guideway on said frame below said surface, said guideway being formed in part integrally with the frame and in part by a removable plate, said guideway extending at right angles l to the abutment and open at its end remote from the abutment, said guideway being provided also with a side opening therein, said frame having a slot in the supporting surface thereof extending lengthwise of and communicating with said guideway; a knife operating bar of non-circular cross section corresponding to that of the guideway and having a slidable fit therein, said bar having one end extended out through the open end of the guideway whereby the same may be actuated; a knife movable back and forth within said slot; and means for securing the lower end of the knife to said bar, said means being accessible through said side opening for attaching and detaching the knife.

CHARLES BLOMSTROM. 

